Warriors leave the field at halftime, trailling 36-0 against the Storm. Photo: www.photosport.nz
NZ Warriors will have plenty to think about, after suffering their heaviest defeat of the season so far, slumping to their 17th consecutive loss to Melbourne Storm.
The Auckland-based side headed across the ditch hoping to gauge themselves against a team that perennially contends for the premiership and came away with the realisation that they are still far off the pace, if this is to be their year.
Here are a few talking points from the game…
First, the good news
After missing the start of the season and then withdrawing late against Wests with a hamstring twinge, centre Rocco Berry made it through the entire 80 minutes and scored a consolation try towards the end.
He ended up on the wing, when fullback Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad left the field, with second-rower Kurt Capewell slotting into the midfield, and his lack of familiarity with the position may have cost a couple of other chances, as passes went behind him and into touch.
After trailing 36-0 at halftime, the Warriors actually won the second half 14-6 - always a hollow victory, when you're that far behind on the scoreboard - and have now outscored opponents 52-0 over the final 20 minutes of games this season.
Don't celebrate too much, lad... look at the scoreboard. Photo: www.photosport.nz
Teenage forward Leka Halasima continues his development with tries now in back-to-back games and, in his 100th NRL appearance, lock Erin Clark earned the most fantasy points (61) among the Warriors.
Sin-binned
Yes, the Storm were already off to a thundering start, when referee Ashley Klein dispatched replacement forward Jackson Ford to the sidelines for 10 minutes in the naughty-boy's chair.
During the build-up to Shawn Blore's try - Melbourne's third of the day - Ford was caught impeding a support player and banished for a professional foul.
As his teammates tried to stem the tide shorthanded in his absence, the home side scored three converted tries to Trent Loiero, Harry Grant and Grant Anderson, accounting for half of their advantage at the break.
Blaming the loss on one player would be frivolous, but those 10 minutes made any kind of potential comeback impossible and the Warriors were simply playing for pride from that point onwards.
Missed opportunity
The Warriors actually turned down a chance to lead 29 seconds into the contest, when Storm prop Stefano Utoikamanu hit hooker Wayde Egan with a high tackle in front of his posts.
With the benefit of hindsight, two points at that juncture might have settled the nerves, with the prospect of another possession from the kickoff.
Instead, they chose to tap and, from the ensuing set, halfback Luke Metcalf and Capewell collided near the tryline, and the Storm pounced on the loose ball and took off upfield, with winger Xavier Coates scoring the first of his two tries - a potential eight-point turnaround in just the third minute.
Aerial mismatch
Coates has inflicted quite a bit of heartbreak on the Warriors over the years. Who can forget his miracle last-minute try that deprived them of victory at AAMI Park last year?
With his try double on Sunday, he now has 12 in eight games against the Auckland side, which is an incredible strike rate by any standards.
His team were only too willing to capitalise on the mismatch between Coates, standing 1.94m (6ft 4in), and Warriors counterpart Taine Tuaupiki at 1.78m (5ft 10in).
Xavier Coates adds to his exploits against the Warriors. Photo: www.photosport.nz
Previously, Tuaupiki's slight stature has been dismissed, with the Warriors choosing to focus on the unique elements he brings to the wing position, but if he is to continue in that spot, they will need to come up with a strategy to counter opponents peppering him with high kicks against much taller opponents.
Injury toll
Losing co-captain James Fisher-Harris 10 minutes into the game certainly didn't help, but the Warriors may have to get used to that feeling.
The inspirational front-rower exited with a pec injury that may prove a season-ender. That muscle between the chest and the shoulder is devilishly hard to heal, and often requires surgery to mend.
In addition, Nicoll-Klokstad, and forwards Marata Niukore and Demitric Vaimauga also left the field for concussion checks, with only Niukore returning intact.
Vaimauga's departure came in the final moments, so he may yet have passed, but the Warriors will likely miss Nicoll-Klokstad against Brisbane Broncos next week.
More bad news for the Warriors, as Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad leaves the field. Photo: www.photosport.nz
The bodies are starting to pile up in the casualty ward, especially among the outside backs, with wingers Roger Tuivasa-Sheck (hamstring) and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak (wrist) still several weeks away from return, and now JFH and CNK joining them.
Depth in those positions is being tested and Tuaupiki will probably wear the No.1 jersey against the Broncos, with Ed Kosi taking his spot on the wing.
By the way, Kosi stands 1.93m, so presents a taller figure under those high kicks.
They may also need a long-term replacement for Fisher-Harris.
Penalty reversed
Not too much was going right for the Warriors, until the 48th minute, when they were penalised for a dangerous hit on Storm five-eighth Cam Munster, as he put a high kick towards the posts.
If that penalty had stood, Melbourne would have had another chance to pile on points after the break, but a captain's challenge revealed, not only was the hit not as perilous as first thought, but Berry was impeded in his attempt to catch the kick.
The penalty was reversed, momentum switched and the Warriors scored next.
Stat attack
As the Warriors gained some parity over the final 40 minutes, the game stats tended to even out, probably masking some of the glaring first-half deficiencies.
By halftime, the Storm had run almost twice as many metres (996-501) as their rivals, made seven linebreaks to none and 11 offloads to three. The Warriors had missed 22 tackles, but by fulltime, Melbourne had missed more (35-31).
Another stat that actually favoured the Warriors during the first half - as has become their custom, they accumulated more tackles in the opposition 20 than their opponents. That probably had as much to do with the long-range nature of the Storm tries.
Storm clouds
Perhaps the one negative to come out of this display for Melbourne was the injury that kept Kiwis halfback and Dally M Medal winner Jahrome Hughes off the field for the second half.
Hughes landed awkwardly in a tackle in the 12th minute, but battled on until the break, kicking a 40-20 that led to Melbourne's second try to Josh King a few minutes later.
So far ahead on the scoreboard, Storm coach Craig Bellamy saw no reason to risk his star further, with a short five-day turnaround, before visiting the Dolphins in Brisbane.
They looked lost without him in the second half and Melbourne's only defeat this season came against St George Dragons in Round Four, when Hughes was sidelined by a hand injury.
Next up…
The Warriors face a hot-and-cold Brisbane outfit, sitting third on the competition ladder, but smarting from their ill-tempered loss to Sydney Roosters on Friday.
They are a hard team to read, overpowering the Roosters in Sydney in the opening round, but outplayed by the same opponents on their home ground this week.
They have wins over North Queensland Cowboys, the Dolphins and Wests Tigers, but fell to Canberra Raiders in the meantime.
Kiwis second-rower Jordan Riki will likely return from suspension, but fellow forward Jack Gosiewski will face the judiciary and likely miss the game, after making a dangerous tackle against Sydney.
